Two Houses
by Fantom Of The Fiction
Summary: Beverly Katz met Alana Bloom in the summer of their junior year. Their bedroom windows faced each other, and they would meet on the roofs and talk. Their friendship faded away after they graduated, as friendships will do. Ten years later, they unexpectedly meet in Quantico, Virginia. Can they rekindle what friendship they had as high schoolers, or will it turn into something more?
1. Chapter 1

_This chapter's song is Perpetuum Mobile by Penguin Cafe Orchestra. [ /watch?v=6E3znZoFnN8]_

"Bev, sweetheart, we're here." came her mother's voice.

Beverly squeezed her eyes shut and grimaced. "What time is it?" she asked groggily.

"Seven forty-five."

"In the morning?" Beverly slowly opened one eye, then the other. She groaned. They had wanted to start out a full day there, so they had left at seven-fifteen in the morning.

"Yes, in the morning. Come on, help me get Jasmine and Oliver."

Beverly sighed, stretched, and stepped out of the car. She leaned backwards and rested her upper body on the seat in the car, stretching out her back. She sighed again and opened the backdoor. She reached over her younger sister and unclasped her safety belt, then lifted up the sleeping four year old girl. "Ooh my goodness, you're getting so heavy." She said. Jasmine didn't stir.

Beverly walked around the car to meet her mother and eight year old brother who had just been woken up and was not happy about it.

Her dad walked up to them; he had been driving the moving van. "Well? Are we ready to see it?"

"I don't see why me and Jazz and Ollie couldn't see it before we moved in. What if we don't like it? Do we at least get to pick our own rooms?"

Her father sighed. "_Because_, Beverly, it's a new experience. Come _on_, it'll be fun. I picked the room for you that I know you'll love."

She sighed and trudged along with her family. She shared a look with her brother and they rolled their eyes.

"I had better get my own room." Oliver said. Mr. Katz purposely ignored him.

Their dad unlocked the front door and led them inside, a huge smile on his face. Beverly wasn't impressed yet, but she was excited. The front entrance was a six-by-six foot space and a closet to the left. There was a short set of stairs that led up into another room. The family walked up the steps and into the kitchen.

"Oh, my." Beverly's mom gasped.

The kitchen had black granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, and hanging cabinets. It was a chef's dream, which is probably why her father had chosen the house. He was the head chef at a three-star restaurant which was just awarded its forth star that summer and her dad had gotten a pay raise, which was the reason why they were moving. Beverly's mother was a lawyer, so they would have been able to move at any given time, but they had never thought about it before. They were still in the same area, but in a wealthy neighborhood that was closer to the restaurant.

Beverly gasped when she looked at the far wall. "Oh, my God." She walked over to the ceiling-to-floor glass window that covered the entire wall and wrapped around to the left side of the house, careful not to wake her sister. "This is an amazing view, dad." The view was of a very dense set of woods, filled with so many dead things that Beverly could analyze.

"I thought you might like it. There's a soccer field on the other side and a path through the forest, so it'll be easy to get to for Jazz's soccer games."

"Doesn't she need to try out for the team first?"

"Well, yeah, but assuming that she'll get on it."

Beverly turned back to look at the forest, and her sister began to stir. "Bevvie where are we?" she asked voice still muddled with sleep.

"We're at our new house. Jazz."

"Why?"

Beverly laughed, "Because we live here now, silly."

"Oh." She yawned.

"Jazz, look at this."

Jasmine turned her head and looked out the window. "That's trees."

"Yes, it is trees. We can go out there and play today." Jasmine nodded her head. "Do you want to get down?" she shook her head.

"Do you kids want to see your rooms?"

"Yeah!" the three of them said at once, each with different levels of enthusiasm.

"If you go up the stairs, each of your doors has a sign with your names on them."

Oliver ran upstairs with a burst of newfound energy and Beverly followed after him.

"Do you want to see your new room?" she asked Jasmine.

"Yeah! Show me, show me!"

Beverly walked up to the door that had Jasmine's name on it. "Ready?"

The little one nodded her head enthusiastically and Beverly opened the door.

"Whoah!" Jasmine squirmed and Beverly put her down. She heard her brother shout the same thing when he opened his door. If these two were impressed, she couldn't wait to see her room.

Jasmine's room was small and rectangular and covered in dinosaurs, a perfect fit for her.

"Bevvie, look! Look at all of the _things_!" she squealed.

Jasmine did have very many things in her room already, like her toys and books. They had already sent a lot of their things to the new house the week before and the real estate agency had an interior decorator set the things up so they weren't in boxes. It was a brilliant idea, really, but it must have been hard work. They did have a few more things that they had brought with them, such as bedding and lamps and toys and kitchen appliances. Those boxes did need to be unpacked, which Beverly was looking forward to. She loved organizing.

Jasmine's bed was right across from the door and had a built-in guard rail. The far wall was lined with shelves that framed a window with white curtains.

"Wow, Jazz! Your room looks so cool!"

"Yeah! But my bed isn't comfy…"

"Not yet it's not. We still need to unpack your blankets and pillows from the car."

"Oh. When?"

"In a little while. Go ask momma or daddy if you want them now."

"Umm. No, I want to play!"

Beverly laughed again. "Then go play. I'm going to go see my room." Jasmine was already preoccupied with looking through all of the shelves and the new toybox.

Beverly left Jasmine's room and made her way to her own. She held her breath as she opened the door, and let it out the second she saw the inside.

Her walls were white and red and had black wall stickers of birds flying on the ceiling. Her bed was in the corner and there was a very detailed painting of a tree that was all different shades of black and grey. There was a desk at the foot of her bed with drawers under it and a grey rolling chair. On the side closest to the door, there was a set of cube shelves with fabric drawers of all different colors. Opposite the door stood a tall bookshelf. The bottom shelf was filled with her own books, knick knacks were on various shelves, and most of the shelves were filled with her science and psychology books. There was a door there, too. She walked over to it and saw that it was a bathroom.

"Cool." She smiled.

The floor was hard wood, just like the hallway, but she had a black carpet in the center that covered a surprisingly good portion of the floor.

The window was covered by a sheer curtain with thick red, black, and white vertical stripes. The curtain was closed, however, and wasn't letting in much light. Beverly walked over to it and pulled it open.

Outside of her window was another window.

On a different house.

What?

Why would her dad buy this house if this was there?

Why would they even _build_ houses this close together in a wealthy neighborhood?

In the window opposite hers, she saw movement. Looking closer, she saw that there was someone in the room. She quickly closed the curtain, but looked through the space between the two halves out of curiosity.

It was a girl. She had long dark hair and was wearing sweatpants and a tank top. She shuffled in from her door and fell onto her bed, laying on top of the covers. She wondered if the girl was the same age as her and if they would end up being friends.

"Hey, Bev." Came her dad's voice from the doorway. Beverly jumped and turned to look at her dad, startled.

"Jeez, dad, you scared me." She said.

"Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to."

"No, no, it's alright. Fine, really. What's up?"

"Do you like your room?"

"Oh! Yeah, I love it. I love that I have my own bathroom. It's a real step up from our old house." She told him.

"I'm glad. I have something for you, come with me."

"A present? For me? I didn't know it was my birthday."

He smirked. I'm sure this could never match up to one of your birthday presents."

"Oh now you've got me excited."

He led her downstairs, through the living room, and down another set of stairs into the basement.

Beverly whistled. "Nice basement. I could get used to it." The main area of their basement had a mini bar, their huge couch form home, and their flat screen TV.

"Your surprise is through that door." Her dad motioned to a door by the entrance to the backyard.

Beverly stepped up to the door and opened it. She gasped.

In the small room, there was a long table that lined two walls, another floor-to-ceiling window being one of these walls, and cabinets and drawers everywhere. Her science tools were arranged across the table.

"Oh my God."

"Do you like it?"

"I…" she was speechless. She had an entire room solely dedicated to her forensic studies. She would have to move all of her books down into this room for sure. "I love it, dad. Thank you so, so much." She hugged him tightly. "This is really the best thing you could have given me."

"You're welcome, Bev. I figured you should have a place all to your own where you could work. You and I both know how much your mother hates it when you being dead things into the house to study, so now you have your own place for it. You don't have to do this in your bedroom anymore."

Beverly beamed.

**oOo**

That night, after everything had been unpacked (or was almost unpacked – Oliver was way too excited about his new room to care about his old things), Beverly sat in her room on her new bed. It felt strange and foreign to her. She missed her old bedroom. She knew that she would get used to this room, but that wasn't happening yet. It helped that she still had the same bed sheets and mattress pad, but the aura of the room was different. And it smelled weird.

She had put Jasmine to bed a few hours ago – her mom was busy helping Oliver unpack and her dad was setting things up downstairs – and was trying to make herself feel tired enough to go to sleep.

Beverly sighed. It was only nine o'clock. She knew she wouldn't get to sleep any time soon.

She reached over to her nightstand and turned on her iPod speakers. She scrolled through her iPod – it was the iPod Video that she had gotten for her tenth birthday that still miraculously worked and outlived two iPod touches – and set it to her favorite songs playlist.

She shuffled over to her window and pulled the curtains open. The girl's bedroom across from her was dark, so Beverly knew it was safe to have the window open.

Just then, she noticed something about the windows. There had almost-conjoining roofs. Again, _why_. She wondered if the roof was stable enough for her to sit on. She didn't know why it wouldn't be, so she tried it out. She opened up the window – there was no screen, she noted, which meant that she would need to check Jasmine's window to make sure it had one – and stepped one foot out onto the roof, stomping on it a few times to check if it was sturdy. When it was, she stepped out onto it, holding onto the window frame for support.

Beverly looked around her. It was quiet, save for the music playing in her room. She could see the forest at the back of the house and the road on the other side. The moon was out and the stars were shining, and she suddenly became very calm.

So _this_ was why her dad knew that she would love the bedroom.

She sat down and rested her feet on the roof of the other house. Examining the window frame of the house, she saw carvings of words that she couldn't make out in the dim light. She also saw that there were a few brass chess pieces and two dice in the corner of the windowsill. She wondered what they were doing there.

She sighed and leaned back, looking up at the stars. She couldn't make out any constellations, so she decided to come up with some of her own. Her mom was always telling her and her siblings to keep their creative gears running, anyway.

She spent a half hour connecting the dots and ended up forming a simple heart with four stars. She was proud of herself. She would have to tell her dad about it.

The shingles of the roof were beginning to hurt her back after a while, so she decided that she would go grab a blanket and a pillow, not wanting to go back inside for the night yet. So she climbed back into her bedroom and realized that she didn't have a blanket that she wanted to put on the roof – her good blanket was too nice to get dirty. So she left her room and went down the stairs to the living room, where she knew she would find her parents.

"Mom?"

Beverly's parents were sitting on the couch that was facing the forest outside.

"Yes, Bev?"

"Where are the spare blankets?"

She thought for a moment. "There's a closet upstairs they I think I put them in. Why do you need it?"

"I just need another one. Thanks."

Beverly took the stairs two at a time and looked around for a door that didn't have a name on it. She opened one door, saw that it was a bathroom, and closed it. She opened the one next to it, saw that it was the closet, and pulled out a green sweatshirt-fabric blanket. Then she walked back into her bedroom, tossed the blanket towards the window, pulled up her hair into a messy bun, and grabbed a pillow from her bed. She picked up the blanket off the floor and crawled out onto the roof –

The same time the other girl stepped out onto her own roof.

The two stared at each other for a moment, not knowing how to react, if they should just pull themselves back inside or say hi.

Beverly chose the latter.

"Hey."

The girl blinked at her. "Hey."

"I'm Beverly."

"I'm Alana Bloom."

They stared at each other again, not moving.

"Are you just gonna stand there or what?" Beverly asked, breaking the tension and stepping out onto her roof.

"I was going to ask you the same thing." Alana responded, also stepping out of her bedroom and onto her own roof. She was also holding a pillow and blanket.

They each laid their blankets on their roofs and Alana sat down with her pillow in her lap and Beverly propped hers up to lean against.

"So, hey. Beverly Katz. We just moved in today." She extended her hand and Alana shook it.

"Then I guess yesterday was my last night to enjoy having my curtain open." She laughed.

"Nah, you can keep it open if you want. I won't watch you while you sleep." A smile twitched at her lips.

Alana laughed again. "Good to hear it. So do you like the house?"

"Oh, yeah, I love it. My dad set up a room in the basement for me to use as my science lab." She beamed.

"You're into science? What kind?"

"Mostly forensic. Why? Are you into science?"

"No, I'm interested in psychology. I've been doing an internship in D.C, this summer and I got back a few hours ago."

"Oh, psychology? Do you go to the NOVA School for Forensic Psychology, by any chance?"

"Yeah! Do you?"

"I'm starting there in the fall!"

"Oh, awesome! It's such a great school. You've already seen the school, right? So you know about the uniforms?"

Beverly groaned. "Yes, I heard about the stupid uniforms. I haven't seen them, though. Are they really as awful as I think they are?"

"Oh, no. They're actually great. It saves me from having to choose an outfit to wear every day. The girls wear these red and blue plaid skirts when it's warm out and can either wear tights when it gets cold or wear navy blue slacks. The guys just wear pants all the time, but some guys like to wear skirts because there are no rules against it and no one really cares. They say that they feel good to wear, too, so." She shrugged.

"They only wear things on their legs?"

Alana rolled her eyes. "No, you weirdo. We wear white blouses and ties."

"_Ties_?"

"Yeah? Don't schools with uniforms usually wear ties?"

"The guys, yeah. I've never heard of a school that has ties as part of the uniform for everyone."

"Well you don't have to wear the ties, but it's recommended. I like to wear them."

Beverly shrugged. "Doesn't sound as bad as I would have thought."

"It's really not."

The two sat there in a semi-awkward silence for a few moments.

"So do you have any siblings?" Alana asked.

"Yeah. I've got an eight year old brother named Oliver and a four year old sister named Jasmine."

"Oh, how cute! I love little kids."

"Yeah, Jazz is pretty cute. Because I'm the oldest, I have to take care of them a lot. But I don't mind. It's actually pretty fun."

"That's good, then. It would suck if you hated them."

"Yeah, really. But I could never hate them. They're too… good. What about you? Any siblings?"

"Nope, it's just me."

"It must get lonely."

"Yeah, I guess. But I don't know what it's like to have siblings, so I like it."

"Any pets?"

"I've got a pet bird."

"What kind?"

"A cockatoo. Her name is Pink."

Beverly smirked. "How'd you come up with that name?"

Alana sighed. "I was really obsessed with Pink – the singer – when I got her. So I named her Pink."

"And are you still obsessed with Pink?"

"Not as much as I was before, but I still have all of her albums."

"Nice. Nice." Beverly sighed and leaned back against her pillow.

They sat there in a comfortable silence for a few minutes.

"My room smells weird." Beverly told her.

"Why?"

"It was just painted so it smells like paint and new plastic. I don't like it. That's one of the reasons why I came out here."

"Oh, I have the perfect thing." Alana crawled back into her room and emerged a moment later, holding a small bottle. "Here." She handed Beverly the bottle. "It's a great scent. Smell it. If you like it, you can spray it in your room to help mask the scent."

Beverly sniffed it. "Damn, this smells nice. What is it?"

"It's called Bvlgari Pour Homme Extrême." She said in a perfect French accent. "My mom got it for me in France."

Beverly raised her eyebrows. "Well excuse me while I go cover my room with this." It was her turn to crawl into her room. She pulled off the cap and sprayed seven squirts of it. She was excited for her room to smell good. She crawled back outside and handed Alana the cologne. "Thanks."

"No problem." Alana set the cologne just inside her window and picked up one of the chess pieces to fiddle with.

"What's with the chess pieces and dice?" Beverly asked.

"I found them out in the forest a few years back. I didn't know what to do with them, but they looked pretty cool. So I put them on my windowsill."

"Ah. Gotcha."

After twenty minutes of learning about each other, Beverly decided that it was time to get to bed.

"Alright, goodnight, Beverly. It was nice meeting you."

"Yeah, you too. We should do this again sometime."

"Totally. I've got my internship for the next few weeks, so I'll only be around after seven until the week before school starts. We should get together, though. I can introduce you to my friends from school that I think you'll like."

"That sounds great. We'll talk." Beverly crawled into her room and pulled her pillow and blanket inside.

"Will do." Alana did the same.

"Goodnight, Alana." Beverly said before closing her window.

"Night." Alana said, and closed her own window.

_A/N: Reviews are always appreciated._

_I don't really know where I'm going with this story, so if anyone has any ideas, please don't hesitate to throw them out there! I always take each review into consideration._


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: I'd like to point out that they're rising juniors. And thank you to hervissa and Jasmine for helping me think of ideas for the plot of the story!_

_This chapter's song is The Cello Song by The Piano Guys. [/watch?v=Ry4BzonlVlw]_

It was the last week of summer before school started at the NOVA School for Forensic Psychology and the day that Alana was going to introduce her friends to Beverly.

Beverly was nervous. What if they didn't like her? What if she made a fool of herself in front of them and Alana decided that she didn't want to be friends with someone so embarrassing?

She and Alana had become fast friends. They met up almost every night on their rooftops just outside their windows and talked for hours on end. Beverly was thankful that she had found a friend so soon after moving here.

Alana was going to pick her up at eleven o'clock, because people in this part of the world liked to do things early, apparently.

It was now nine o'clock, and Beverly was trying to stay awake as she lay in bed. The one thing she hated the most in the world was waking up to an alarm clock. She much preferred to wake up on her own. But such is life.

She stretched and groaned, popping her joints. Her stomach growled. She wondered if she should eat breakfast or get something at the café that they were all meeting at. The scent of pancakes wafted into her room and another growl from her stomach decided that she would eat breakfast.

Beverly rolled out of bed and onto the floor. She sighed and crawled to her door, pulling herself up by the door handle and opening it. She shuffled to the stairs and walked down into the kitchen, intent on eating the delicious pancakes she smelled. Her father was already awake and in the kitchen, flipping pancakes in a pan and making Jasmine squeal with laughter.

"Hey there, munchkin." Beverly told her as she ruffled her hair.

"Bevvie! Daddy's making tancakes!"

Beverly smiled. Jasmine still didn't have all her words down yet. "Is he? I love tancakes. What's your favorite kind of tancake?" she asked as she rested her elbows on the counter next to where her sister was sitting.

"Booberry!"

"Oh, booberry is _good_. I like chocolate."

Jasmine giggled. "Bevvie do my hair in a bunny bun." That was Jasmine's way of asking Beverly to put her hair in a bun. Her hair was pretty long, so it worked out well.

"Alright, come here." Jasmine scooted closer to Beverly and she put her sister's hair up into a messy bun. "All good?"

Jasmine cupped her new hairdo. "All good! Thank you Bevvie."

Beverly smiled. "So, dad, when will the pancakes be ready?"

"Just a few minutes. Would you get out the plates?"

"Sure. Where are they?"

"Cabinet on the far right."

Beverly got up and opened the cabinet and took out three plates. "Where do you want them?"

"Just set them down on the counter." Her father put the last of the pancakes on the plate he already had out. "Who's hungry?"

"Me, me, me!" Jasmine said.

Beverly found the cabinet with the glasses and took two out, filled them up with milk, found one of Jasmine's sippy cups, and filled hers up, too.

Her dad set two plates filled with pancakes on the counter of the bar. "Eat up." He said as he put a jug of syrup by the pates. Beverly picked up Jasmine and set her down in one of the chairs, careful to push in the chair so she wouldn't fall out. Mr. Katz cut Jasmine's pancakes into smaller pieces and handed the two of them forks.

"So Alana's taking me out to meet some of her friends from school today."

"So _that's_ why you're up so early. I was beginning to wonder. What time?"

"Eleven." She groaned. He sent an exaggerated groan right back to her. "Right, though? Is it normal for teenagers to go out and do things before noon?"

"Pssh, no. _Normal_ teenagers use their inherent sense of curiosity and taste for learning to find the cause of death of animals they find outside." He winked.

Beverly rolled her eyes, but couldn't hide her smile. Her parents were wary at first about her bringing dirt and diseases into the house, but she had been adamant about how she wasn't going to get sick from it. So far, she had kept that promise and her parents had decided that it was no use badgering her about it.

"So will I get to meet this elusive Alana Bloom today?"

Beverly shrugged, "Probably. Do you want to?"

"Of course. I always want to meet your friends. To make sure they're not cannibalistic serial killers."

"Why would someone kill cereal?" Jasmine asked innocently.

**oOo**

Around ten thirty, Beverly pulled on a red shirt and looked through her drawers for some pants to wear. It was warm out that day, so she would either wear a skirt or shorts. She pulled out a few pairs of both and pondered over which one she would wear.

She heard Alana turn on her music in her bedroom outside the open window. Beverly shrugged and decided to ask Alana what she thought.

She picked up the clothing and padded over to her window and stuck her head out, careful to only have the top half of her body showing.

"Hey! Bloom!" she called. Alana paused her music and stuck her head out of her already-opened window.

"Hey Beverly. What's up?"

"Shorts or skirt?" she asked, holding them up for Alana to see.

"Hmm. I'd go with the shorts. You don't strike me as the kind of girl who would wear skirts a lot of the time."

Beverly thought for a moment. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Thanks!"

"No problem."

They ducked back into their rooms to finish getting ready.

Beverly was just pulling on her shoes when the doorbell rang. She stood up, brushed out the wrinkles in her shirt, and opened the door.

Alana was standing there on the doorstep. "Hey!"

Beverly smiled. "Whoah, this is the first time I've seen you in daylight. Your hair is gorgeous." It really was. The morning sun was shining just so on her, giving her an angelic look.

Alana blushed and brushed a lock of hair behind her ear. "Really? Thanks. I've been thinking about dying it lighter."

Beverly laughed. "You do whatever you want, but I like it as it is now." She grabbed her bag from the coat rack by the door. "Hold on, I gotta tell my parents that I'm leaving. Want to come in? My dad wants to meet you." Beverly's mom had already met Alana when she went over to the Bloom residence a couple of weeks earlier to say hello.

"Oh, sure." She stepped into the house and looked around her while Beverly led her up the stairs. "Nice setup you got here."

"Thanks. We had an interior decorator do it before we moved in. Mom! Dad! Alana is here!"

"We're in the living room!" was their response.

The girls entered the living room where her family was.

"Dad, this is Alana." She gestured to her.

"Hello, Alana." Her dad said, smiling, as he made his way over to them. "I'm Mr. Katz."

"Firm grip you've got there."

"Thank you, sir. I've been in Cotillion classes since the sixth grade."

"Well good on you for that. You two have fun today, okay?"

"Will do." Beverly said, and Alana nodded.

"It's very nice to meet you, Mr. Katz." She shook his hand.

"Hello, Alana." Beverly's mom waved from the couch.

"Hi, Mrs. Katz. How are you?"

"I'm doing just great, thank you."

"Bevvie, Bevvie!" came Jasmine's voice from the stairwell. "I wanna meet Alanalana!" she came down the stairs one step at a time, holding onto the rail.

"Oh, my little sister wants to meet you, too."

"Oh, good. I've been wanting to meet her, too. You never shut up about her." She winked.

Jasmine ran over to the girls and hid behind Beverly's legs.

"Jazz, this is Alana. Say hi."

Jasmine looked up at her, but then a hive grin came across her face and she ran and hugged Alana's legs.

"Hi Alanalana!"

Alana laughed. "Hi, Jasmine." She put a hand on Jasmine's head. "How are you today?"

"I'm gooood!" she giggled.

"Alrighty, Jazz. Time to let Alana's legs go. She needs to use them!"

Jasmine gave Alana's legs one last squeeze, then ran over to her parents on the couch.

"Have fun today, girls." Mrs. Katz told them. "Be safe, be smart, and all that."

"Sure thing, mom."

The girls left the house and got into Alana's car.

"Damn. Nice car. Is it yours?" Beverly asked.

"Yep." Alana said as she turned the car and began driving to their destination. "I got it a few months ago when I got my license."

Beverly raised her eyebrows. "It was a _gift_? The only thing I got when I got my license was the responsibility of driving my family around whenever they want."

Alana laughed. "My mom's a surgeon. That's why we can afford it."

"A surgeon? I didn't know that. What does your dad do?"

"Oh, I don't have a dad."

"Oh. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"No, no. I mean, I have a dad. His name is Sebastian Roland, but I've never met him. Story time! My mom's a successful surgeon, has been for a long time. Her life was dedicated to her work. Still is, actually. One day, she decided that she wanted to have a kid. Her own kid; she wasn't going to bother adopting because it's really difficult for a single mother to adopt a child. She was getting older and running out of time, and because her life revolved around her job, she was single. My mom didn't want to lose time off work for being pregnant, so she asked her best friend to be a surrogate for her. She agreed, and they went through the whole sperm donation process. They found a good looking guy who went to Harvard and a year later, I was born."

Beverly stared at her. "But your mom is your biological mom, yes?"

"Yep."

"You seem fine with the whole thing."

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"No, no, no I mean. Like. You seem to know the whole process. Were you told a different story about that when you were little?"

"You mean like in that Jennifer Aniston movie? Nah. My mom told me the process in simpler terms once I started asking questions when I was eight. She doesn't… really know how to treat a child like a child. If I were anyone else, I might have been super confused and angry. But I listened and accepted it and understood it to some degree."

"Lucky for your mom, then."

"I like to remind her how lucky she is from time to time."

Beverly smiled. "So where are we going, exactly? You never gave me details."

"There's this huge park near here. It's got two ponds, a garden, and a dog park. I like to do homework there sometimes. Oh, and there's a playground."

"Why a park? I wouldn't expect a bunch of teenagers to hang out at a park."

"There's nothing to do in Northern Virginia. Ask anyone. There are no clubs or places to hang out except for people's houses. So we go to the park. Lots of people go there. And here we are!"

They pulled into a full parking lot and into one of the few empty spaces.

Beverly's nervousness shot through her again. Alana had said that Beverly would like her friends, and that they would like her, too. But that was to be determined.

"What if they don't like me?" Beverly asked, wringing her hands.

Alana sighed. "I like you, therefore they will like you. I've told you this. They're really friendly and they love meeting new people. If anything, Brian will be a bit too loud and excited. He's is focusing in Crime Scene Investigation, too, so you guys will have something to talk about. But if you want to leave, then I have no problem leaving."

"Alright." Beverly mumbled.

"C'mon. We're meeting them by the big hill. They should be getting there right around now."

The girls walked along a path to what Beverly guessed was the big hill. It wasn't so big, but it was the biggest one there. So.

"There they are!" Alana waved to a group of four teenagers.

The girls walked up to the group and Alana immediately introduced Beverly.

"Guys, this is my friend Beverly Katz. She'll be going to school with us next week and she's in the Forensic field." She gestured to each person as she introduced them. "Beverly, this is Bedelia Du Maurier. She's a year older than us and focusing on Psychiatry with me. Next is Natasha Crandall, who's in Forensics. This is Brian Zeller and his boyfriend, Theodore Davies. They're also in Forensics."

"It's nice to meet you guys." Beverly said, trying her best not to sound sheepish.

They all exchanged their hellos, and Brian came up to her as the group converged together.

"Hey, nice to meet you." He said happily as he shook her hand. "Brian Zeller."

"Beverly."

"So, Beverly. What concentration of Forensics are you in?"

"Crime Scene Investigation and fiber analysis. I also like the idea of finding the causes of death of various animals I find in the woods." _Oh. Was that weird?_

Brian's face lit up. "No way, me, too! Theodore and Natasha are in Forensic Psychology. I'm so glad that I can have someone else to talk to about CSI who will actually understand what the hell I'm talking about. I want to specialize in determining the cause of death."

"Is anyone interested in sitting by the lake?" Bedelia asked. Wow, she had an elegant voice. Beverly would want her to narrate her life.

"I'm up for that."

"Yeah, that sounds great."

Beverly nodded.

The group began walking in the direction of the pond.

"So how long ago did you move here?" Brian asked Beverly.

"A few weeks ago."

"Are you all settled in yet?"

She shrugged. "More or less. The house isn't lived in, so it's a bit stiff still. You know what I mean?"

"Yeah, yeah, I get you. You're Alana's neighbor, right?"

"Yep. We met on the rooftops just outside our windows."

Brian was silent for a moment, trying to understand what she was saying. "What? Sorry, can you explain that?" he laughed nervously.

Beverly smiled, "It's kind of a funny story. Our bedrooms have roofs juts under our windows. We both crawled out of the window and onto our roofs at the same time one night and that's how we met."

"Are they close together or something?"

"Oh, yeah, yeah. It's bizarre. They practically touch. I don't know why the houses were made that way."

"Doesn't that violate a fire hazard or something?"

"You know, I wouldn't be surprised if it did." She laughed.

The six of them reached the pond then and they sat down.

"Making friends, I see." Alana said to Beverly as she sat down next to her.

"Oh, yeah. Beverly and I are great friends. The best. Right, Bev?" Brian nudged her arm and gave her a wink.

"Totally."

Over the next hour, Beverly spoke to Theodore, Natasha, and Bedelia. Alana was right; they were all very friendly, and Beverly felt very welcome. Natasha was very quiet and reserved, but she was passionate about Forensic Psychology and it was difficult for her to stop talking about it once she got going. Theodore was very proper and polite and he and Natasha were currently discussing which teachers they were hoping to have that year. Bedelia was like Theodore, very proper and she used big words that Beverly didn't always understand.

"Hey, Beverly. Do you want to go get some ice cream?" Alana asked.

"They have ice cream here?"

"Yeah, they have a truck set up down the path every summer."

"I could so go for some ice cream right now. Let's go."

They stood up and brushed the grass off of their legs. "We're gonna go get some ice cream. Anyone want some?" Alana asked.

"No, thank you."

"Nah, I'm good."

Theodore and Natasha shook their heads.

"Alright. Be back soon."

They walked down the path toward the truck.

"Are you having fun?" Alana asked.

"Definitely. I like your friends. Especially Brian."

"Yeah, Brian is great. He can be so sassy once you get him going on something. So, what do you want?" she asked as they stepped up to the ice cream truck.

"Uh. I'm gonna go with an orange creamsicle. You?"

"Probably a vanilla cone."

They ordered their ice creams and handed the vendor the money, and he handed them their ice creams.

Alana licked hers as they turned around to head back to their friends. Beverly giggled.

"What?" Alana gave her a questioning look.

"You've got some ice cream on your nose."

"Oh, oops." Alana covered her nose with her hand. "Do you have a napkin? I'll be right back, I'm going to go see if the guy has any."

"Hang on, I got it." Beverly said. She crooked her finger and raised her hand and wiped the white ice cream off of Alana's nose. "All better." She licked the ice cream off her finger.

Alana's cheeks flushed pink and she tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "Thanks."

Beverly smirked, "No problem."

They walked back to the group in silence. The other four were all standing up, and they said they were going to head over to the playground.

"So who's ready for school to start up again?" Brian asked the five as they reached the playground.

They all simultaneously gave a monotonous groan, even Bedelia, who seemed to love school.

"I'm not looking forward to the stress of senior year." Bedelia said as she sat down on a swing. "College applications are going to be so time consuming." She sighed.

"Do you know where you're going to apply yet?" Beverly asked.

"George Mason University, Stanford University, University of Virginia, William and Mary… The usual."

"Only one out-of-state college?"

"Yes, only one. It would cost less."

"It's not like you'd be drowning in student debt for long after you graduate. Psychiatrists get paid a hell of a lot of money." Brian said, taking the swing next to her and Theodore started pushing him.

"That's true, but I'd prefer to stay in Virginia. We live in a very nice area with a good selection of opportunities for our fields."

"Like the Behavioral Analysis Unit over in Quantico. _That's_ where I want to work."

"Oh, my cousin works there." Natasha piped up. "He says they just got a new guy to head the Behavioral Science Unit. His name is… something Crawford. Maybe he'll stick around long enough for him to be your boss."

"Maybe. Is he any good?"

"Oh, I don't know. My cousin didn't say much about him. But maybe no news is good news?"

"Probably."

The group hung around the playground for a while longer, fighting like children about who would have the next turn on the swings. Alana snagged a swing, and Beverly spent a few minutes pushing her on it. The six of them ended up playing a round of Tag and Hide and Seek with some younger kids who were at the park. All in all, it was a great outing.

**oOo**

That night, Beverly stepped out of her window and onto the roof. Alana was already out there.

"Hey there, stranger." Beverly said in a weird voice.

"Howdy partner."

"How long have you been out here?"

"Half hour?"

"Oh, you should've knocked on my window. I would have come out here if I knew."

"No worries, I wanted some alone time anyway."

"Do you want me to go back inside? I can do that if you-"

"No! No, it's fine. Please. Stay." She sounded almost sheepish.

"Alright, alright." Beverly laughed. "I'll stay."

Alana smiled and visible relaxed. "So how was today? I know I asked you five hundred times already. Sorry."

"Alana, I think we've reached the point in our friendship where you can comfortably call me Bev. Really. But yeah, today was fun. I really enjoyed myself. Brian is hilarious, and did you see how good he was with those kids today? It was the best. The ice cream was my favorite part of the day, though." She winked.

Alana blushed. "Y-yeah, the ice cream was good. Nice."

Beverly sighed. "I feel better about school starting next week now. Do all the kids studying specific things have every class together?"

"Yeah. It's a pretty small school because it's a specialized one, and not many kids our age are interested in it. So yeah, you'll have almost every class with Brian."

"Will you and I have any classes together?"

It was Alana's turn to sigh now. "No. Probably not. We're in opposite studies." She sounded disappointed.

Beverly's shoulders slumped. "Damn. I was hoping we would."

"Yeah. Me too." She said quietly.

The girls sat out there for what seemed like hours, Beverly gazing up at the stars, and Alana gazing over at Beverly.

This was going to be an interesting two years.

_A/N: Reviews are always appreciated._ _If anyone has any ideas for this story, please let me know! I take every comment into consideration._


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N: I'm so sorry that I didn't update last week. I've been so ridiculously busy with stage crew (6-11pm every night and 10am-11pm on weekends, ugh) and projects that I've had to stay up until 5am to do, so my writing kept getting pushed out of the way. But this means that you'll be getting three chapters this week, because stage crew ends this Sunday!_

_Also: I've created a blog for this story. I'll be posting updates, polls, asking for help, music, and fanart! .com_

_A very special thank you to Lily, Madeline, and Lexi, who helped motivate me to write this and gave me ideas. I don't know what I would do without you guys._

_P.S. The next chapter is when it really starts getting good._

_This chapter's song is Nattöppet by Detektivbyrån. [ /watch?v=g0qqB2hTlUU]_

Beverly's alarm clock went off at sevritualen o'clock and she ran over to it to turn it off. She had already been awake for an hour, and was trying to figure out if she should wear pants or a skirt. She checked her phone to see what the weather was going to be like that day. Sixty-five; the usual temperature for a Northern Virginian autumn.

She placed her skirt on her bed along with a blouse, white tank top, light blue bra, the tie, and a pair of knee-high socks.

There was a quiet knock at her door just then. She opened her door and saw Jasmine looking up at her through bleary eyes.

"G'morning Bevvie." She yawned and rubbed her eyes.

"Good morning, Jazz. Did you sleep well?"

Jasmine nodded and padded into Beverly's room, curling into a ball on Beverly's bed.

"Whaddare you doing?" Jasmine asked.

"I'm getting ready for school today. Today's the first day!"

"Lily's sister has to wear a nooniform for her school." Jasmine told her. She had been enrolled in preschool and started the week before, and her new best friend was named Lily Hansen. They had connected by the sheer fact that that their names were both flowers.

"I do, too. But mine is different because I go to a different school, so I wear a red skirt. What does Lily's sister wear?"

Jasmine shrugged and buried her face in Beverly's pillow.

"Do you want to get breakfast?" Beverly asked. She needed to eat breakfast, too, and Jasmine had to leave for school in an hour.

Jasmine nodded and sat up, reaching her arms up so Beverly could pick her up.

Beverly carried her sister downstairs into the kitchen where her dad was, of course, already making breakfast.

"Morning, girls!" he said cheerfully.

"Morning, dad."

Beverly sat down at the counter with Jasmine in her lap.

"Sausage and eggs for breakfast. Gotta start the day out right."

**oOo**

Beverly pulled on her shoes and brushed out her skirt.

"Have a wonderful first day, sweetheart." Her mom said and gave her a hug and a kiss.

"Good luck today. Don't do anything too irrational." Her dad quipped.

Beverly chuckled, "Bye, guys. I'll see you when I get home."

She gave her dad a hug , shouted a goodbye to her brother, and shut the door behind her.

Beverly took a deep breath and walked down to the sidewalk where Alana was waiting for her.

"Morning." Alana smiled.

"Morning! Sleep well?" she asked as they began walking to the bus stop.

"As well as one _can_ sleep the night before school starts."

"Filled with dread, then?"

"More or less. You?"

"I'm excited. And surprisingly not as nervous as I had anticipated."

"Well that's good. I was scared as hell on my first day. I considered feigning sickness, but I knew I would only be putting off the inevitable. It's very… admirable that you're so confident."

"Oh, shucks. I'm flattered that you think so highly of me." Beverly batted her eyelashes dramatically and flashed a smile, clasping her hands together and bringing them up to rest on her cheek.

Alana blushed and said nothing, just nudged Beverly in the side.

They waited at the bus stop, chatting about what school was going to be like and various other things.

"It's a really relaxed school in some aspects. They care more about what we're learning than what we're wearing. But it's a private school, so the uniforms are required. But they do care if your underwear is showing, for boys and girls. And your shirt can't be hanging wide open." Alana told Beverly as they stepped off the bus.

"Hey, guys!" Brian called as he ran over to them, pulling Theodore with him.

"Hey, Brian. Hey, Theo." Alana said.

Beverly whistled. "Nice legs, Zeller. You could be a model."

"Really?" he struck a pose. "You think so?"

"Oh, I know so." She winked.

The bell sounded for the students to make their way to their homerooms, and the four walked to the main doors.

"Do you know where your homeroom is, Bev?" Brian asked.

"Room 308. You?"

"602. Looks like we're all in different ones this year."

"Where are you, Alana?" Beverly asked.

"Oh, I'm in 107. Beginning of the alphabet, and all." She mentally smacked herself for adding a comment as stupid as that.

The group came to an intersection of hallways and a staircase, and Brian said his goodbyes and took the steps up two at a time.

"Where's room 308?" Beverly asked Alana.

"Just down here. I'll show you."

The girls said goodbye to Theodore and walked down a hallway.

"Good luck today, Bev." Alana told her.

"Thanks, Alana. I'm sure I'll be fine. Good luck to you, too." She smiled.

"Text me if you need anything or if you don't know where anything is, okay?"

"Yeah, okay, _mom_."

"And I packed you a healthy lunch with lots of snacks, and make sure not to go anywhere with strangers!" Alana laughed. "And I'll hold your hand and walk you to your classes, too, okay?"

Beverly laughed, too, as they reached her homeroom.

"Well, this is it." She said, and turned to Alana, apprehensive. "Would you, though?" she asked quietly.

"Would I what?"

Beverly shuffled her feet; she didn't like asking for help very often. "What you said before."

Alana only looked at her. "What?"

Beverly rolled her eyes. "About the walking to classes."

"You… _want _me to hold your hand and walk you to your classes?" she asked skeptically, trying to mask the hope that she knew was evident in her voice.

"Well. Yeah. Would you? Just – just for today. The walking to class part. You don't need to hold my hand." Then she added, "Unless you really want to." And she winked.

Alana blushed for what seemed like the hundredth time that day. "Sure. I'll meet you out here when it's time to go to first block."

Beverly visibly relaxed. "Thanks."

They stood there for a moment in a silence that they couldn't quite put a name to.

"Well, I guess I'm off to my homeroom, then." Alana told her. "Have fun."

"Thanks, you too."

Alana turned and began walking to her homeroom, and Beverly stepped into hers.

The desks had nametags on them, and she found hers in the second row by the window. Setting her backpack down by her feet, she slid into the desk and looked around her at the students that were already in the room. They were chatting and laughing and talking about what they did over the summer, some looked excited to be here, others looked like they wanted to still be in bed. She was almost certain that one boy was actually sleeping at his desk.

The bell rang once more to announce that the students should be in their homerooms and Beverly's homeroom teacher walked in.

She was a younger woman who looked like she had just gotten out of college. She wrote the name "Miss James" on the whiteboard and turned to face the class as they quieted down.

"Good morning, class. I hope all your summers were enjoyable and I know you're all so ecstatic to be here. We can talk about them later, but first I need to take attendance."

She called out each student's name and they responded if they were present. The boy that Beverly though was asleep raised his hand and grunted when his name was called but kept his head down.

Miss James asked each student to tell the class about one thing they did over the summer afterwards. Most of them went with the usual "I went to the beach" story, some traveled, some did nothing worth mentioning, and Beverly told them about how she moved and switched schools.

The bell rang after half an hour of talking about summer activities, and Beverly was excited to get to her first real class. The girl who sat next her, Caroline, was talking to her about the various TV shows she had binge watched over the summer, and they walked out of the classroom together, babbling about a TV show they both liked.

"Hey, I'll see you later. Have fun with your first day at a new school!" Caroline said to Beverly.

"Thanks!" Beverly replied and turned to Alana, who was waiting outside the door. Just like she said she would. That made Beverly's stomach flip a little bit.

"Hey." Alana smiled.

"Hey." Beverly smiled back at her.

"Ready to go?"

"Yeah. My first class is in 1308B."

"Oh, that'll be upstairs. Follow me."

The two girls walked beside each other, a bit too close, even for a crowded hallway. But neither of them seemed to notice or mind.

Alana's hand brushed against Beverly's, and Beverly definitely noticed _that_. But she didn't know that it was done intentionally. '_It was probably an accident. The hallway _is _crowded, after all.' _She thought to herself.

That same time, Alana was thinking to _her_self, '_Oh God, oh no, I touched her hand too hard, she'll definitely notice. What if she pulls her hand away? What if she thinks I'm actually trying to hold her hand? Well, I am, but – but – no, she would have made some sarcastic remark if she noticed. You're safe, Alana. Bev didn't react. She must not have noticed. She probably thought it was an accident. Yeah. We _are_ in a crowded hallway, after all. She'll probably think that it was an accident. Things like this happen all the time. She probably didn't even notice.'_

'_But what if she_ is _trying to hold my hand?' _Beverly wondered as they climbed up the stairs_. 'I mean, I don't mind. But what if she wasn't? What if it really was just an accident? She's not reacting at all. She looks like she didn't even notice that it happened. But what if she's just trying to cover it up? I'd like to hold her hand. I guess. I think. Totally platonically, of course. Or as a joke. Yeah. Let's – let's try it. As a joke. She'd laugh, right? She laughs at my jokes a lot. So she would laugh at this joke.'_

Beverly moved her hand against Alana's, with a bit more force than she had intended, so she pretty much smacked their hands together.

'_Did she mean to do that? Or did she just hit my hand by accident? Oh, no. But what if she was trying to hold my hand? But why would she try that? She's not into me. That'd be weird if I held her hand. But…' _Again, Alana pushed her hand against Beverly's, more noticeably this time, and she glanced over at Beverly, then looked away immediately and turned her head, in case Beverly saw her blush, considering Beverly was looking directly at her.

'_She wants to hold my hand. There's no doubt in my mind. Come on, Bev, just do it for God's sake. As a joke. Or platonically. Or something. Just – just do it already.'_

Beverly looked down at their hands and was about to lace their fingers together – totally platonically – but Alana turned to her with huge eyes and a hint of a blush on her cheeks.

"Here's your classroom!" she almost screeched.

Oh. They had reached 1308B. She hadn't even noticed.

"My class is downstairs so I've gotta get going if I don't want to be late." The words came rushing out of her mouth and Beverly almost couldn't pick them up.

"Oh." She paused. "Oh, yeah, right right right. Sorry. Wait, your class is far away? Then why did you walk me to my class? You didn't need to do that."

"Yeah, well. It's no problem. I wanted to. I mean – that's what friends do? It'd be a lot easier for me to just show you where it is rather than have you get lost."

"Oh. Right. Yeah. Thank you." She gave her an awkward smile. _'Someone please throw me down an elevator shaft.' _She thought.

Alana smiled a bit too big of a smile. "You're welcome. But I have to get to my class now. Meet me at the bottom of the stairs after class?"

Beverly smiled a genuine smile this time. "Sure thing."

They parted ways after that.

Beverly's classes were all the same that day; each student talked about what they did over the summer, the teacher handed out the syllabuses and went over to them, and in one class, they watched a short film.

Alana walked Beverly to all of her classes that day, and the next, and the next, and so on and so forth. It became a routine for them. They would meet by the stairs when their classes were close to the stairs, and when their classes were right next door to each other, they would race to be the first one waiting by the other's door. And Beverly usually won.

_A/N: Reviews are always appreciated._


	4. Chapter 4

_A/N: Alana said Beverly's name two whole times in Mukozuke and my Kabloom shipper heart tore itself up. You can find the audio post of it on the Two Houses tumblr blog [twohousesfanfiction] under /tagged/audio if you want to download or listen to it._

_This chapter's song is Torn by Nathan Lanier. [/watch?v=jqcStEae194]_

Beverly grabbed her phone from her nightstand and typed a message into her thread of texts with Alana.

_There's supposed to be a thunderstorm tonight. My weather app says it's supposed to be a pretty bad one.  
_8:43PM

**Oh... Reqlly?  
**8:44PM

**Really*  
**8:44PM

_Yeah. Looking forward to it. First thunderstorm here since I moved in.  
_8:44PM

**Oooohh… Fun, haha  
**8:44PM

_Oliver's terrified of thunderstorms. He'll crawl into my parent's bedswith them when one happens. Jazzie and I love them, though.  
_8:45PM

**I used to do that with when I was younger. I would hide under my mom's sheets and she would talk to me and ask me things to distract me.  
**8:45PM

_You were afraid of thunderstorms? That's so cute. :)  
_8:46PM

**Still am, actually… and no it's not, it's embarrassing!  
**8:46PM

_Cute.  
_8:47PM

**Embarrassing. :P  
**8:47PM

_Nope, it's cute. Sorry, I don't make the rules.  
_8:48PM

**Noooo s hut up it's not cute aasdkjgksl  
**8:50PM

_Is too.  
You said you used to crawl into your mom's bed. What do you do now?  
_8:50PM

…**  
**8:51PM

_?  
_8:51PM

**I might have lied a little bit  
**8:52PM

_Meaning?  
_8:52PM

**I still crawl into her bed  
oops  
**8:54PM

_Oh my God stop it you do not  
_8:54PM

**:/ So what if I do?  
**8:55PM

_I didn't mean it in a bad way! Sorry.  
But that's sweet. God, can you gegt any cuter?  
_8:55PM

_Get*  
_8:55PM

**Shut up  
**8:56PM

_Isn't your mom gone this weekend?  
_8:56P

**Yeah…  
**8:56PM

_You can crawl into my bed if you want to ;)  
_8:57PM

**Omfg bev  
**8:57PM

_Hey, I'm here for ya. That's what best friends do, right?  
_8:58PM

**:) Yeah, I guess.  
**9:01PM

_You /guess/? C'mon, you gotta give me more lovin' than that._  
9:02PM

**OooOOhOhh Beverly Katz, you're such an ~amazing girl~ and I think about you as I fall asleep every night and I want to wake up next to you and pick out curtains for our home and live happily ever after with 2 kids and many pet bird *kissy face*  
**9:04PM

_You really think that? Aw, shucks. You're too kind._  
9:05PM

**And you're an ass.  
**9:05PM

_Ooh, snarky. I like that ;)  
_9:06PM

_Talk snarky to me, Al  
_9:07PM

_Al_  
9:08PM

_Al love me  
_9:09PM

_Love me, Al  
_9:09PM

_Al  
_9:10PM

_Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaallllllllllllll  
_9:10PM

_Alana  
_9:12PM

_Alana my bae  
_9:13PM

_AlalalaananaananaaAaaaaAAaaaaaaa n aaaaaaaa,,,,,,,,wzasdsgcppppp  
_9:15PM

**Shut up I have to study for my psych exam on Tues  
**9:16PM

_Dude it's Friday why are you studying for a test you have on Tuesday  
_9:16PM

**Because I care about mt grade? ?  
**9:18PM

_Uuuuuuugggghghhhhhghghghygh fiiine go study. Ttyl nerd  
_9:19PM

Beverly sighed and tossed her phone to the foot of her bed. Alana was her main source of entertainment nowadays, and she didn't like being bored. Jasmine and Oliver had gone to bed already, so they would be of no use to her. She couldn't play her violin because it would wake up Jasmine and Oliver. And she couldn't go hunting for dead things in the woods because it was dark out and it had just begun to rain.

She sat up and looked around her room. It was relatively clean, although she had some clothes strewn across her floor and a sweater on her desk chair. She slid off of her bed and onto the floor, crawling over to her discarded clothes and piling them into her arms. Crawling over to her hamper, she threw the clothes in and stood up, grabbing her sweater from her chair and hanging it up in her closet.

She checked her watch. Two minutes had passed. She groaned and dropped to the floor, feigning death from boredom.

"Maybe I should get some homework done." She said to herself.

So Beverly grabbed her backpack and sat down at her desk. Pulling out her Forensics textbook, notebook, and assignment book, she flipped to the page that had homework questions and began filling them out.

An hour and a half later, she had three answers written and was surrounded by eighteen paper cranes.

Yeah, there was no way she was going to get any homework done tonight.

Beverly pushed her schoolbooks away from her and stood from her chair, intending to find some string and tacks so she could hang the cranes from her ceiling.

After fifteen minutes, she hung the last crane and stood back to admire her work. She had put them all above her bed, all at varying heights. She was pleased with her accomplishment. Making paper cranes had been easier than she had originally thought; everyone always made them out to be the hardest thing, but they were actually pretty easy, once she got the hang of it.

She looked at her clock and decided that it was late enough to take a shower. So she did, and crawled into bed at 11:15.

The rain had gotten heavier in the past thirty minutes, and she heard the faint sound of thunder rolling in. She thought about Alana, home alone and afraid of thunderstorms. She wondered how she would get through it tonight. Of course, Beverly was being completely serious when she told Alana that she could crawl into her bed if she wanted to.

She reached up and batted one of the cranes with her hand a few times and sighed again. The thunder sounded closer now.

She groaned, hitting one of the low-hanging paper cranes hard enough that it got tangled in one of the other cranes.

A loud clap of thunder boomed through her neighborhood, startling her.

"Aw yeah, that's the stuff I do like." She said to her empty room.

She listened to the thunder rumble and crack and watched the lightning light up the night sky, and was about to fall asleep until she heard something from outside her window.

She listened.

Was it the thunder? It could have been a bird. But she could have sworn she heard…

"Beverly!"

Was that—

Someone was knocking on her window, shouting her name. She wasn't dreaming this, was she? Just to make sure, she got out of bed, went over to her window, and moved open the curtains –

And there was Alana, soaked to the bone, looking frightened as ever.

"Oh my God, Alana!" Beverly exclaimed as she pushed her window open and pulled Alana inside her bedroom. "Alana, what are you _doing_?!" she asked, closing her window and pulling the trembling girl into her lap.

"I – I was so – sc-c-cared, Bev, I –" a loud crack of thunder caused Alana to scream and bury her face in Beverly's chest, covering her ears. "I tex-texted you but yo-ou didn't a-answer and – and I nee-needed –"

"Oh, Alana. Shhh, it's okay, you're safe. I've got you." She said soothingly, wrapping her arms around her friend and rubbing her back. She hadn't heard her phone go off; the thunder and rain must have drowned out the sound of it vibrating.

Alana was sobbing into her chest. "I'm – I'm sor-sorry. I just–"

"Shhh, no, Alana. Don't be sorry. I'm here. I'll protect you."

Alana only sobbed harder and cringed as yet another loud clap of thunder sounded overhead.

Beverly rested her cheek on Alana's wet head. She would need to get Alana dried off and into a fresh pair of pajamas soon, or else they'd both catch a cold.

"Al?"

"Hmm?"

"Come on, Al, let's get you dried off. I don't want you to get sick."

Alana sniffed and nodded, and Beverly pulled her up, taking her hand. Alana followed close behind, practically attached to Beverly's side.

They went to the hall closet and Beverly pulled out the softest towel she could find and returned to her bedroom. She sat Alana down in the middle of her room and wrapped the towel around her friend. She went over to her drawers and pulled out a pair of pajama pants and a t-shirt for Alana to change into.

Another crack of thunder had Alana sobbing all over again, and Beverly pulled her close, whispering soothing words into her ears.

Alana calmed down the slightest bit, and Beverly took that as an opportunity to dry her off, seeing as how Alana obviously wouldn't be doing that herself, too shaken up to do anything but cry.

Beverly dried off Alana's face first, making sure to be extra gentle. Next she dried off her hair as much as she could, and that only left the clothes to worry about.

Alana was wearing a loose t-shirt and pajama pants, both of which were completely drenched.

"We've gotta get you into some dry pajamas, okay?"

Alana nodded, but didn't move.

'_Well, it's what best friends do._' Beverly thought to herself and peeled Alana's shirt off.

She grabbed the towel and wrapped it around Alana's back, wiping off the water from her back and arms. She hesitated momentarily when she had to dry off Alana's chest. She wasn't wearing anything underneath her shirt. But that didn't bother Beverly.

She moved the towel over Alana's chest and stomach, drying her off as quickly and thoroughly as possible, then pulled the dry shirt over her head.

Lightning flashed outside and Alana's eyes went wide with fear, all too familiar with the thunder that would be accompanying the lightning. Beverly hugged Alana to her chest just as yet another loud crack of thunder came from overhead. But Beverly held her close, arms wrapped tightly around her.

"It'll be over soon, Al. I'm here with you."

Beverly pulled off Alana's pants with some degree of difficulty; wet cotton flannel pants were a bit of a challenge to remove. She dried off Alana's legs and pulled the fresh ones on, then took Alana's hand and led her to her bed.

"Come on, under the covers." she ushered.

Alana looked at her, but Beverly nudged her onto the bed, crawling in beside her and pulling the covers up over them.

An especially loud crack of thunder had Alana clinging to Beverly for dear life, trembling again.

Beverly didn't want to be awkward, but her friend needed her. So she curled her arms around Alana's shaking form, acting as a barrier from the monster outside the window, entwining their legs and rubbing small, soothing circles on her back.

Totally platonically, of course.

Minutes passed, lightning flashing outside and thunder towering overhead, and Beverly whispered soothing words to Alana, hoping it would help her calm down. Then she remembered what Alana said her mom does to distract her.

"Tell me about your day." Beverly said.

Alana sniffed. "What?" she asked, her voice cracking.

"Tell me about your day. What classes did you have?" she asked as she reached over to her nightstand and handed Alana a tissue.

"Um. I had, uh." She sniffed again, taking the tissue and blowing her nose. "I had psych, and… study hall… physics."

"Did you get any homework done in study hall?"

Alana shrugged. "Yeah. I got some, ah, some reading done. I filled out half of a worksheet."

"For what class?"

"Sociology."

"Do you like that class?"

Alana nodded.

They lay there in Beverly's bed in a comfortable silence, Alana's sobbing slowly becoming less intense.

"D-do you wanna play Twenty Questions?" she mumbled.

Beverly huffed sarcastically. "My favorite color is purple, yes I am a virgin, and my bra size is 38B."

Alana gave a shaky chuckle and sniffed. "What do I look like to you, some white boy trash?"

"You're spending too much time around me; you're getting to be too sassy for your own good."

Alana smiled. "I mean it. Let's play for real."

Well, if it would help distract Alana. "Sure. This'll be fun. Do you want to go first or should I?"

"You can."

"Alright, let's see." She thought through various questions. "Coffee or tea?"

"Coffee. Um." She snuggled closer into Beverly's chest, which made Beverly's stomach flip. She wondered if Alana could hear her heart beating quickly. "Do you like bubble baths?"

"Occasionally. But I prefer showers. Do you brush your teeth before or after breakfast?"

"Before. I used to do it after but then I went to a sleep-away camp one summer and had to brush them right after I woke up, or else I wouldn't brush them until after dinner. Would you rather go on a trip to outer space or to the bottom of the ocean?"

"That's a tough one. I'd probably have to go with ocean, because hey, mermaids totally exist." Thunder rumbled outside again and Alana squeaked and squeezed her eyes shut. Beverly held her close and drew designs on Alana's back with her fingers. It seemed to help her. "Have you ever been out of the country?"

She nodded. "France. My, um. My – my grandma and grandpa live there."

Beverly was about to ask her another question, thinking that Alana would be too distressed to ask her one. But she was proved wrong.

"What's your favorite season?"

"Of what?"

"Of… the year? Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter?"

"Oh. Duh. I thought you meant season of a TV show." That earned her a laugh from Alana. "Fall. It's nice to look at and it's just the right temperature. Not too hot, not too cold, and my allergies don't act up. Favorite book as a kid?"

"Into the Land of the Unicorns. Best book ever written." She yawned. "What's up with the paper cranes?"

"Oh, yeah, those. I was bored earlier while you were studying, so I made eighteen paper cranes in an hour and a half. I could teach you to make them sometime."

Alana nodded. "I'd like that. Your turn to ask a question."

"Favorite TV show?"

"I like CSI. It helped me get interested in psychology." She yawned again. "Um. Do you play any instruments?"

"Yeah, I play the violin. I started playing when I was nine, and I never really stopped. I'm pretty good at it by now."

"You should play for me sometime."

Beverly smiled. "Sure. Anything for you, Al."

Alana looked up at Beverly and lightning flashed outside, lighting up the room. But Alana didn't seem to notice.

"Has anyone ever told you that you have really pretty eyes?" she asked, her voice filled with emotion.

Beverly's breath hitched in her throat. "They're just boring brown eyes… There's nothing special about them."

"But they're _your_ eyes. Which is why I like them." She said softly.

Beverly blinked, unsure of how to respond to that. "Th-thanks." She stuttered.

Alana yawned again and curled back into the warmth of Beverly's chest. She could hear and feel Beverly's heart beating hard, and she smiled into the fabric of her friend's shirt.

She felt safe, protected in Beverly's arms. She had stopped trembling and crying, and her heart rate was beginning to slow. She could feel herself becoming tired, and soon she drifted off to sleep.

Beverly kissed Alana's head softly. "Goodnight, Al. Sweet dreams."

Alana was the last thought on her mind before she joined her in a peaceful, loving sleep.

_A/N: Reviews are always appreciated._


	5. Chapter 5

_A/N: Yeah I really needed to write this real quick after seeing Futamono._

_This chapter's song is Goldberg Variations Aria by Johann Sebastian Bach. [/watch?v=12-2p3eNshg]_

Beverly's eyes open slowly as she wakes from one of the best night's sleep of her life. She's warm, she's comfortable, and the first thing she sees is Alana looking up at her with those big blue eyes of hers, the sun shining lightly through the curtains, illuminating Alana's soft skin.

Alana smiles. "You're awake."

"So are you." Beverly quips.

They lay there, wrapped in each other's arms, unsure of how much time passes and completely uninterested in it. The only thing they care about is each other, together in that moment.

_A/N: Reviews are always appreciated._


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